Grapefruit Jam

The next jam in Wild Olive's Jam of the Month Club is Grapefruit Jam.

The brown dots give me a watermelon vibe, not a grapefruit one, but nonetheless, this is a cute motif. I'm averaging one every two days, I don't know how long I'll be able to keep up this pace.

Raspberry Jam

The next motif in Wild Olive's Jam of the Month Club is Raspberry Jam.

It was hard for me to see that this one was raspberry, even though I did it. I still had difficulty with the smile, but I'm not going to stop on to the next.

Cherry Preserves

Next up on Wild Olive's Jam of the Month Club is Cherry Preserves.

I'm having a hard time with the smiles, and I think I'd like to see outlines around the individual elements, but I'm still liking them.

Orange Marmalade

So, with the Coronavirus pandemic, I finally decided to start working on a project that I've had laying around the house since Christmas. Back in high school, I used to do little cross-stitch kits, so, as a Christmas gift, Wanda gave me everything I needed to cross-stitch Wild Olive's Jams of the Month. Thread, fabric and patterns all printed out, ready for me to jump right back into the craft. I decided to start with the first one, Orange Marmalade.

It's smaller than I expected, but I think it's cute. I'm ready to get started on the next one.

No Bake Eggnog Icebox Cake

For Evonik's Holiday Luncheon Dessert Potluck, I searched for a Christmas-themed icebox cake. Of the many ideas that I saw on the Internet, the No Bake Eggnog Icebox Cake was the one I chose to make (I had recently bought some store brand eggnog for Tom, and he hated it, so I thought I could use up some of it this way).

No Bake Eggnog Icebox Cake

Ingredients:
EGGNOG MOUSSE

• ¾ cup eggnog
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 0.25 oz bag powdered gelatin
• 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/3 cup sugar
• ¾ tsp nutmeg
• 1 ¾ cups heavy whipping cream
• ¾ cup powdered sugar

WHIPPED CREAM

• 1 ¼ cups heavy whipping cream
• ½ cup powdered sugar

ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS

• 6 tbsp eggnog
• 6 tbsp milk
• 2 ½ packages (5.3 oz) of Walkers Shortbread

Directions:

1. Add eggnog and cornstarch to a sauce pan and heat on medium-high until eggnog is hot and just starting to simmer around the edges. Do not boil.
2. Sprinkle gelatin over eggnog and turn heat to low. Whisk gelatin into eggnog until smooth, then remove from heat and set aside to cool. (I put it into another bowl and then in the fridge to speed cooling – about 4-5 minutes)
3. In another bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and nutmeg until smooth.
4. Add eggnog mixture to cream cheese mixture and mix until well combined.
5. In another bowl, whip heavy whipping cream for mousse until it starts to thicken.
6. Add powdered sugar and whip until stiff peaks form.
7. Carefully fold whipped cream into eggnog mixture.
8. Prepare a 9-inch springform pan by lining the sides with parchment paper that sticks about an inch above the sides of the pan.
9. In a small bowl, combine additional eggnog and milk.
10. Make a single layer of shortbread in the bottom of the pan. As you add the shortbread to the pan, dip each cookie into the eggnog and milk mixture and hold it there for 3-4 seconds.
11. Top the shortbread with half of the eggnog mixture.
12. Repeat steps 10 and 11, then make whipped cream for the top. Whip heavy whipping cream until it starts to thicken.
13. Add powdered sugar and whip until stiff peaks form.
14. Set about 1/3 cup of whipped cream aside for piping on the edges of the cake, then spread the rest into an even layer on top of the cake.
15. Place cake in the fridge for 5-6 hours to firm, or set in the freezer. I prefer to freeze it first to make it easier to remove from the pan, then leave it in the fridge.
16. Once cake has been removed from the pan, pipe remaining whipped cream around the edges.
17. Store cake in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Now, I don't mind eggnog - I don't yearn to drink it in the holiday season, like Tom does - so I felt like this recipe was not bad. If this was a recipe that I would make again, I would leave the shortbread (I couldn't find Walkers Shortbread, so I used Lorna Doones) in the eggnog/milk mixture longer - they were too hard to have the cake-like texture I expect from an icebox cake. I think that I'll try this recipe next year, it looks simpler, and a pizelle is something I associate with the holiday season.

Potato Chip Cookies

For Evonik's Cookie Day this year, I decided to make Potato Chip Cookies. I'd first tried them at a cookie exchange at the Tidewater, and loved them, but never thought to make them until now. After searching the Internet, I decided on Paula Deen's recipe:

Potato Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (4 sticks) softened butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 ¼ cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 ½ cups coarsely crushed potato chips
• ¼ cup confectioner's sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300°.
2. In a large mixing bowl cream butter and sugar. Slowly blend in flour and vanilla. Add crushed potato chips and mix well. Drop by rounded teaspoon, 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Using a fork, flatten each cookie slightly. Bake 18-20 minutes, or until light brown around the edges. Remove to wire rack to cool. Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar.
3. Notes From the Paula Deen Test Kitchen: When using a fork to press cookies on baking sheet, dip the fork in flour first and the batter will not stick to the fork. These cookies were sinfully delicious and disappeared as fast as we could bake them.

I really liked them, Tom didn't. He said he would probably like them better if he didn't know that there were potato chips in them. People at work said they liked them, and I brought a container to the Tidewater that evening, and they liked them, too. What does Tom know, anyway?

Sheet Pan Breakfast Bake

I made two dishes for Evonik's annual Holiday Breakfast today, and one of them was a Sheet Pan Breakfast Bake.

Sheet Pan Breakfast Bake

Ingredients:

• 1 (20-ounce) package refrigerated hash brown potatoes
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
• ¼ teaspoon dried basil
• ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 12 slices bacon
• 6 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or coat with nonstick spray.
2. Place hashbrowns in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet. Stir in butter, olive oil, thyme, basil, oregano and garlic powder and gently toss to combine; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with cheese.
3. Place into oven and bake until the edges begin to brown, about 20-25 minutes.
4. Remove from oven and create 6 wells. Add bacon slices and eggs, gently cracking the eggs throughout and keeping the yolk intact.
5. Sprinkle eggs with Parmesan; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
6. Place into oven and bake until the egg whites have set and bacon is cooked through, an additional 10-12 minutes.
7. Serve immediately, garnished with chives, if desired.

This dish was generally well received. I used sharp cheddar cheese, and if I were to make it again, I would probably use mild.